Al Krow

Speaking of great but tiring bass lines, surprised we've got this far without any mention of Geddy Lee? I mean YYZ?!

But such a great bass line and one that I need to spend a bit of time getting up to speed and seeing if I can persuade my band mates to include in the set!

In terms of precise counting and committing the thing to memory, is it just me, or does anyone else find remembering the precise notes and phrases to Walk the Moon's - Shut and Dance pretty fiendish?

Yeah, but he's [edit: NO LONGER] got the makings of an angry young man ready to relaunch the punk era...😄

You Tube and Tik Tok even more so? This much admired / reviled (depending on which BC'er you are) just made it onto the front cover of BP mag:

Yup agreed. The counter is that the Blues originated from the opposite of privilege and that is rock'n'roll's true roots. You didn't need a fortune to pick up a battered acoustic 6 string and sing a tune. But I guess those days are long gone...

I really like the look of the Boss 200 series pedals. How are you finding the DD 200?

@AJ567 - that is one sexy and neatly put together board! Very impressive!

Haha - didn't take us more than 10 posts to get onto Brexit 😁 (Btw - not wishing to de-rail this thread, PM me if you're still after a MB CMD 121H).

True. But what about when those with a privileged background themselves go off on a class war e.g. multi-millionaire Lily Allen or the Clash’s Joe Strummer – the privately educated son of a diplomat? I guess you would include that in the "Same the other way too" category?

Given their love of working-class street cred, it's striking just what privileged backgrounds many famous musicians have. There's maybe lots of reasons for the large number of public school pop stars. The gulf in provision of music lessons between state and private schools; the affordability of gear when starting out (although maybe less so these days?) and particularly the costs of touring and giving up a full time job. But does it matter, as long as they're making great music?

Hehe - agreed that I am a bit spoiled to have that as my practice rig! As you say, that it would be more than adequate as a gig rig. I would recommend either setting up a "presence" patch on a Zoom pedal or getting a VTDI to deal with the high-end roll off inherent in MB cabs - it does feel like removing a blanket!

Well if you're going to try and nail an 8 minute fusion-jazz piece! 😉 https://youtu.be/-N_SqtFerjg

Fantastic condition for it's age, up at my parent's in Brum, and currently getting a less use than such a good rig should be getting! 😉

The inspiring bit, Pete, is you're reminding us aging rockers that it's never too late! 😊👍 (PS you obviously need to have some vocal talent in the first place, which sadly rules me out...)

Right gents, I've already shared that I'm slightly in awe of fellow bass-players who can both sing and play - so please don't be shy and feel free to post a clip of your bands with you singing & playing in action!

Interesting about the F# octave stretch on the Blur song as, just to make things worse(!) that's actually also the correct start on Billie Jean. But I wonder how many of us actually play the F# octave at the start of BJ rather than just a single note? (Or how many of us don't play MJ tunes anymore because they were written by him and that makes us uncomfortable for a very different reason - but that's a subject for a whole 'nother thread, right? 😁)

Being able to sing and play bass is a minority skill full stop, not just on BC. I've got a LOT of admiration for folk who can do both. I'm just relieved that my dep hasn't discovered bass pedals yet. Obviously when she starts using a pedal board compressor, I'm going to be totally screwed! 😁

Bloody deps, eh? Just turn up and steal the show! My regular bass dep is also a fabulous lead vocalist and she's 20+ years younger than me. But I own the band PA and have transport. Phew! Except she's got a PA and a set of wheels too, Hmmm....😁

@casapete - hopefully no one noticed other than you that the dep nailed it? 😁 Oh btw - you can call me Al any time you like.

But does your arse need saving? 😁

Great tune, but playing this one riff for 5 mins leaves my fingers knackered! Jackie Wilson - (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher (Best Quality) - YouTube And don't even get me started on Rhythm Stick! What about you, what songs leave you feeling distinctly uncomfortable having played them?

You probably can't go wrong with that format and genre - good luck with the new venture, sounds like a lot of fun!

Where you boys when I needed back-up and was getting shat-on by 10 rabid compressor users when simply trying to say that I didn't think one was "necessary"? 🤣 You and me both, and you're a Brummie too... I'm totally blown away by just how great a used £45 Zoom B1-4 is. So much so that I've now run out of patch space having set up 45 bespoke patches (dead easy and a lot of fun to do) interspersed with 5 clean patches, which are just useful to have so that you don't go from Tape Echo to Darkglass B7K without being able to pause for breath. Probably the first time I can 'fess to making the most of a piece of gear. Loved this post, particularly the bit in blue!

You're not the first person to say that, Andy. Not sure exactly what it is: perhaps a casual remark about how great compressors are on my part, or the fact that Lee is on the 923rd version of his pedal board and still hasn't quite found what he's looking for... 😄